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"Still unmarried," Jimmy said casually, "a famous person once said that dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around."
Tony went silent.
"Which famous person said that," Tony asked darkly, "because I would very much like to ruin his reputation."
"Me," Jimmy replied, completely serious, "a future famous person."
Tony closed his eyes.
Was it really that hard to have a normal conversation.
---
Yinsen's treatment went smoothly, there were no lasting issues, the military had already arranged transport, and that night the three of them would be flying to Los Angeles.
Tony insisted on it.
Yinsen initially wanted to decline, but when Tony pointed outside at Jimmy, who was sitting there quietly, Yinsen hesitated, then finally agreed.
----
Jimmy was not zoning out.
He was staring at a crude system interface only he could see.
----
[Name]: Jimmy Halstead
[Level]: 2 (34%)
[Biological Age]: 1
[Abilities]
Accelerated Healing
Feral Perception
Enhanced Smell
Hand to Hand Combat Mastery
Bladed Weapon Mastery
[Equipment]
Memory Imprinted Adamantium
[Attributes]
Strength: 32 plus
Coordination: 46 plus
Willpower: 22 plus
[Techniques]: None
[Remaining Roulette Spins]: 1
[Unassigned Points]: 5
[Current World]: Primary World, Marvel
[Anchored World]: Mutants, no traversal key, travel locked
----
He had leveled up.
Most likely during the escape from the cave.
There had been no dramatic light, no sudden surge, no cinematic effect, he had not even noticed it at the time.
Jimmy distributed the five points, one into each attribute, then dumped the remaining points into Willpower.
He clenched his fist.
After leveling up, his strength, recovery speed, smell, and vision were all improving steadily.
Not explosively.
Slow, consistent growth.
That also explained why he was always hungry.
This kind of evolution demanded fuel.
To anyone else, Jimmy looked like he was spacing out.
In reality, he was thinking.
Kill enemies, gain levels.
That was not acceptable.
He was not a murderer.
And trying to run with superheroes while killing indiscriminately was a great way to die fast.
If he did that today, tomorrow Tony would probably be designing an anti Jimmy suit.
There was a primary world.
Which meant there were secondary worlds.
Maybe that was where leveling was meant to happen.
And even in the primary world, there were plenty of villains.
If he acted like Spider Man, a street level vigilante, occasionally making a mistake, taking down bad people permanently, Tony probably would not interfere.
The roulette system was still unpredictable.
Last time, he had earned a draw by saving Logan, then successfully covering the retreat.
Saving Logan was clearly protecting a key figure who was meant to die.
Covering the retreat probably counted too.
With that many pursuers, even Logan would not have survived otherwise.
And the children definitely would not have.
Crossing borders meant nothing to armed corporate forces.
Lawyers would clean up the mess afterward.
Or worse, bribe border officials, escape one hell, walk straight into another.
Looking at the rewards, and the sheer number of people chasing them, Jimmy suspected time pressure had prevented a second ambush from being set up.
He exhaled slowly.
This system did not reward random violence.
It rewarded survival.
Intervention.
And timing.
"Hey, Jimmy," Tony Stark said casually, "pack your things, tomorrow morning we touch down in Los Angeles."
"You look good in military gear, but a suit will make you look more respectable."
"Oh, alright," Jimmy replied, "I will take your word for it."
---
Dinner was served on the plane.
Tony struck a deal; he would not comment on Jimmy's terrifying appetite, and he would personally handle Jimmy's identity paperwork. In exchange, Jimmy would stop calling him Tin Man.
Tony also added that if Jimmy was willing to call him uncle, he could arrange a house in Los Angeles and a very nice bicycle.
Yes, a bicycle.
Tony had decided Jimmy was nowhere near old enough to ride a motorcycle, maybe old enough for a written test if he squinted generously.
Jimmy chose not to engage and went inside to sleep.
Yinsen watched them bicker and smiled. "I did not expect Jimmy to be a kid."
"We probably should have," Tony replied, "he did say he escaped with a group of children."
"What are you two talking about," Rhodes asked, approaching with a glass of wine and a glass of juice, offering the juice to Tony, who waved it away.
"Oh, nothing," Tony said, "just discussing which school Jimmy might end up in."
"Oh," Rhodes replied.
Rhodes had noticed something early on.
When he found them, all three had been on the makeshift car door sled, but Jimmy's wrist still bore a clean rope mark with no dust, and it had been Jimmy who angled the reflective metal toward the helicopter.
Jimmy had also been in the best physical condition, even helping soldiers carry Yinsen aboard.
Then there was the food, the weapons, the endurance.
On the surface, Jimmy looked like a child rescued alongside Yinsen and Tony.
Rhodes knew better.
There was a very real chance Jimmy had saved them both.
---
The plane shuddered.
Jimmy rolled upright as the rear ramp began to lower.
Tonight's spotlight belonged to Tony.
He sat in a wheelchair, with Rhodes pushing from behind, while Jimmy wheeled Yinsen forward.
Medical staff rushed over with a transfer stretcher.
"You have got to be kidding me," Tony muttered, glaring at Jimmy, "make them disappear."
Jimmy had called it.
He had said someone like Tony would be treated as critically injured the moment they landed.
In truth, Tony was fine.
He stood up and walked slowly toward a blonde woman whose eyes were red with tears.
"You are crying," Tony said lightly, "for your long lost boss."
"Because I hate changing jobs," she replied.
"Vacation is over," Tony said, "did you prepare the identification documents I asked for?"
"They are in the car."
"Good," Tony said, turning, "introductions."
"This is my assistant, Pepper Potts, this is my good friend Yinsen, and this," he added, resting a hand on Jimmy's shoulder, "is my nephew Jimmy Halstead, an extremely disobedient kid."
"Let us go."
"Hello."
"Hello."
---
They drove straight to Tony's mansion.
Yinsen was taken away by a private physician.
Jimmy was immediately surrounded by a tailor, measuring him from every angle.
On the television, Tony's press conference was playing live.
Sitting on the floor with a burger in hand, Tony spoke calmly about responsibility, reflection, and change.
Then he said it.
Stark Industries was shutting down its weapons division.
The room erupted.
Reporters lost control.
And somewhere off camera, Obadiah Stane froze.
Weapons were the backbone of Stark Industries.
From Howard Stark to Tony Stark, their brilliance had always translated into weaponry, innovation, and profit.
The company's rise, its dominance, its second golden age, all of it rested on Tony's mind.
And now, he was tearing it down with his own hands.
Obadiah nearly exploded.
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